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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26835892">Monster Fest 2020: Astro Edition</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/pseuds/InterstellarBlue'>InterstellarBlue (nagi_schwarz)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ASTRO (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aliens, Angels, Gen, Ghosts, M/M, Merpeople, Stealth Crossover, Transgenics, Vampires, Werewolves</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:27:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,345</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26835892</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/pseuds/InterstellarBlue</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the Annual Ushobwri Monster Fest, which celebrates supernatural creatures all month long.</p><p>Check individual chapters for warnings.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Myungjun | MJ/Park Jinwoo | Jin Jin, Lee Dongmin | Cha Eunwoo &amp; Park Jinwoo | Jin Jin, Lee Dongmin | Cha Eunwoo &amp; Park Minhyuk | Rocky, Lee Dongmin | Cha Eunwoo/Park Minhyuk | Rocky, Moon Bin &amp; Park Minhyuk | Rocky</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Shoobie Monster Fest</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Mermaids and Sirens</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jinwoo loved fishing. It was a relaxing endeavor, required just the right balance of concentration and absent-mindedness so that he could enjoy himself. It was healing. And with exams right around the corner and university fast on their heels, he needed some time to himself so he didn’t crack. He was a good enough student and a good enough son that his parents didn’t mind when he asked to take his father’s boat out for a day of fishing. He rose before the dawn, headed down to the water, and was sailing out on the dark, choppy waves, ready to reel in a slew of octopuses for his mother to turn into tasty food later that day. If he was feeling ambitious, he’d stand beside her in the kitchen and learn how to cook.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew he ought to learn how to cook, because he’d have no one cooking for him in the years to come. He had yet to tell his parents that, despite their hopes of him finding a fine wife to make him happy like his older brother Jinyoung had, he’d be living alone for most of his life, since chances of him ever mustering up the courage to tell his parents that he liked boys were slim. Chances of him ever mustering up the courage to ask out that really cute boy at school were even slimmer, so.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A lifetime of bachelorhood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After university.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And military service.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But first, exams.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo made a pretty good catch. He just didn’t expect his father’s boat to not start after that, or the sky to darken as suddenly as it did, or the waves to grow and heave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One moment he was trying to pry open the engine hatch with slippery fingers as rain pounded down around him, the next he was choking on a mouthful of water because he’d shouted as the boat tipped when a sudden massive wave hit it and -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And cold hands grabbed him under the armpits and yanked. He glimpsed a bright golden-orange tail, like a giant carp or goldfish. And then he was rocketing through the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t remember much after that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he finally woke up, someone said,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The sleep spell is wearing off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good. You cast it so many times I thought you’d put him in a coma,” someone else said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both voices were familiar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo blinked. He was lying on a sleeping pallet in some kind of leafy bower, sunlight filtering through green boughs overhead. He groaned and rolled over, pushed himself up into a sitting position.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And stared at the three merboys who were sitting beside him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All three of them were incredibly handsome. One had a gleaming red-gold tail. One had a dark blue tail. The other had a deep purple tail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The one with the dark blue tail was poking in a bucket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo’s catch bucket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a moment, Jinwoo recognized the one with the red-gold tail, but his mind was rebelling because...it was the cute boy from school. Myungjun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you all right?” the boy with the deep purple tail asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yah!” Myungjun swatted him. “I told you, sleeping spells can’t actually kill people. He’s fine. Right, Jinwoo?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know my name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sit behind me in math class,” Myungjun said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy with the deep purple swatted Myungjun. “Yah! You said we had to bring him to the island to save his life but you just brought him here because you think he’s cute.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, hyung was right,” said the boy with the dark blue tail said absently. “There was no way we could have safely swum him back to shore with how those waves were. It was better to bring him here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Minhyuk! You’re siding with him? But if he tells on us -” the boy with the deep purple tail protested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk pinned Jinwoo with a dark, intense gaze. “Who’s going to believe him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy with the deep purple tail sighed. Then he said, “Why did you steal his bucket?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk curled his arms around it protectively. “It has his catch in it. Waste not, want not. Hyunwoo-hyung is good at spear-fishing and all, but -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yah, Park Minhyuk! Stop telling him everyone else’s names.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Dongmin-hyung.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo knew the name Dongmin. “Lee Dongmin? Who came third in the entire school in the last round of exams?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin swished his purple tail and sighed. “Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But - you go to school. You’re -” Jinwoo figured the word </span>
  <em>
    <span>normal</span>
  </em>
  <span> would be rude - “human.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can pass as human,” Dongmin said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk pushed himself onto his knees, and there was a flash of light and a sound like falling glass, and Jinwoo saw shining blue scales cascade to the ground, and Minhyuk was kneeling, naked, beside the catch bucket. He had long golden legs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo stared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk stood up. “Hyunwoo-hyung! We have some octopus for lunch!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun swatted at him. “Yah! Put some clothes on!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk blinked and looked down at himself. “Oh. Yeah.” He padded away with the bucket. “Hyunwoo-hyung, where are my clothes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you all just walk around naked here?” Jinwoo asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When we have our tails we don’t really need clothes,” Myungjun said, kicking his tail. In the sunlight, his scales gleamed golden. Then he rolled onto his stomach and leaned in, peering at Jinwoo intently. “You really can’t tell anyone about us, okay? I mean, no one will believe you anyway and you’ll probably be taken to a mental institution, but you can’t. Tell anyone. Okay? You owe us. We saved your life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And stole my octopus.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll get some of what Minhyuk cooks. He’s a great cook,” Myungjun said easily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll need our help to get back to shore,” Dongmin added. “After all, your boat sank. You weren’t able to send a distress signal. It’s almost lunch. Your family probably thinks you’re dead, after that storm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo stared at him. “But - school on Monday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin shrugged one shoulder. “We can all swim to shore. Most humans can’t make that swim. Probably only Hyunwoo-hyung could make it in human form. You would have to stay here till we came back for you. No humans come here. Rumors are that this place is cursed.” He was beautiful - and looked just as cold and dangerous as the mermaids of legend, the ones who lured sailors to their deaths with their faces and their voices.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only Myungjun smacked Dongmin on the shoulder. “He’s not going to tell. Right, Jinjin?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That made Jinwoo blink. “J-Jinjin?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun framed his face with his hands and batted his eyelashes. “I know you won’t tell. You’re good at keeping secrets.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo nodded vigorously. “I am. I promise I won’t tell. I do owe you my life. Thank you for saving me.” Then he said, “Did my father’s boat really sink?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was a pretty bad storm.” Myungjun patted his arm. “I’m sorry. Hopefully he had good insurance on it. You want some lunch? If Kihyun and Minhyuk are cooking it’ll be pretty good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lunch would be good,” Jinwoo said. He pushed himself slowly to his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun called out, “Minhyukie, bring me some clothes!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A moment later, Minhyuk appeared. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and nothing else. He handed Myungjun a pair of pants and then walked away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo turned away when he saw the flash of light, and then he heard the sound of falling scales. When he turned, Myungjun was buttoning up his jeans.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This way,” Myungjun said, and led Jinwoo across the island.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you can sing really well,” Jinwoo said. “Can all, um, mer-people sing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, all of us can sing, but that’s because we like music,” Myungjun said. “Minhyuk likes hip-hop too, though. He can rap. You rap too, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You noticed that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun offered him a sunny smile. “I’ve noticed you.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Ghosts, Ghouls, and Wraith</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Written for hauntings comment_fic prompt: "Any, any, How To Make Friends with a Ghost (Rebecca Green)."</p><p>Dongmin is volunteering as a candy striper at a hospice facility and notices another boy his own age, which is unusual.</p><p>Warning: Major character death</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlockianSyndromes/pseuds/SherlockianSyndromes">SherlockianSyndromes</a></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>People thought Dongmin was working as a candy striper at the hospice facility because he had a good heart. The truth was, he’d ended up there because for once in his life he was late on application deadlines, and when he’d turned in his volunteer applications, the hospice facility was the only place left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The residents loved him, because he was polite when he came to visit them. As he had no medical training, he wasn’t given any medical tasks. He helped the residents with other things, like reading them letters (he’d been told by more than one person that he had a pleasant voice) or helping them write letters to their loved ones (he was well-known for his very neat handwriting). Sometimes he would just read books to them if their eyes got tired.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Dongmin wasn’t interacting with the residents, he helped the nursing staff with small administrative tasks, like delivering packages and sorting the mail and greeting visitors and showing them to resident rooms if it was their first time at the facility.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin was pushing a cart of dirty linens to the laundry room when he saw a boy standing on the window sill of the massive picture window overlooking the parking lot. For a moment Dongmin was stunned, because the boy was backlit by the bright morning sunlight, and he was holding a beautiful ballet extension, and he was just a stark black silhouette - </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he jumped </span>
  <em>
    <span>off</span>
  </em>
  <span> the windowsill and landed with a flourish, bowed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he straightened up, he met Dongmin’s gaze, and he grinned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin stared, open-mouthed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dongmin, hurry, before I start the next load,” Bora said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, noona,” Dongmin said, turning to her. When he turned back, the other boy was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin wondered who the boy was. It was unusual, to see other boys his age around the facility. He must have been there to visit a relative or something. Dongmin wondered if he could ask someone, but how would anyone know the boy’s name? The sad truth was, most people only came to visit their relatives once or twice. Residents in the facility didn’t have long to live, and people didn’t have many chances to visit them before time ran out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the next day, Dongmin saw the boy again. He was in the lobby this time, standing beside an overstuffed armchair. He was looking at something on his phone. The boy was a few inches shorter than Dongmin, slender, lean, wearing black skinny jeans, a black tank top with some bold white design on the front, and sneakers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin was supposed to be delivering some packages, but he paused, curious. The boy was handsome, with high cheekbones and bright eyes. The boy glanced up, smiled at Dongmin - and turned on a loud hip-hop song on his phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He set his phone down on the arm of the chair and began to </span>
  <em>
    <span>move. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dongmin should have scolded him and told him to turn it down, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of the boy, the smooth flow of his limbs, the heat in his gaze, and then he did a body roll and -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dongmin, Madam Choi is calling for you. She’d like you to help her write a letter to her niece,” Bora said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, noona.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin turned back. The boy was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Someone had to know who he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What boy?” Bora asked, when Dongmin was sitting beside her in the break room, eating his lunch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The one who was dancing in the lobby earlier.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bora said, “Dancing? Nobody was dancing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To the really loud hip-hop song,” Dongmin said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bora looked amused. “Pretty sure we all would have noticed if someone started playing a really loud hip-hop song.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“True,” Dongmin said. He was really confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Had he really seen the boy at all? He was pretty sure he had. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next day, Dongmin was sitting in one of the rec rooms where residents gathered sometimes, the ones who were strong enough, to play board games or cards or visit with people or take meals or have church services, when he saw the boy again. There was an old upright piano the corner, and when Dongmin had mentioned to a resident that he could play, she’d asked him to play for her. Her husband had been a pianist, she said. </span>
  <span>Could Dongmin play her favorite song?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You play?” the boy asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was wearing massive headphones around his neck, and he looked like a hip-hop dancer, but Dongmin remembered that first encounter, at the window.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do,” Dongmin said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you play the theme from Swan Lake?” the boy asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin nodded. “Sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will you play for me?” The boy gazed at Dongmin with solemn eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin rolled his wrists, then settled his hands on the keys.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy set his headphones down on one of the tables - and they vanished. He assumed a starting pose, and he looked like a ballet dancer instead of a hip-hop dancer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin started to play. The boy eased into motion, and Dongmin was glad the piano was angled as it was, so he could see the boy dance while he played. Dongmin was glad he had this piece memorized, that he had it in his muscle memory, because the boy danced beautifully. He glided and floated, but when he leaped, he flew. His extensions were long and graceful, but his arm motions were powerful like a swan’s wings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the song ended, the boy held his final pose till the final notes of piano faded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” the boy said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin stared at him. “You’re not real, are you? I mean, how are you real?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am real,” the boy said. “Unlike the other residents, I can’t ask you to write a letter to my family or read me a book. So thank you for playing for me. Thank you for letting me dance one last time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin rose. “You’re welcome,” he said faintly. “What’s your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only the light faded from the boy’s eyes, and he turned away, drifted toward the door, drifted </span>
  <em>
    <span>through</span>
  </em>
  <span> the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin ran after him, yanked the door open. He spotted the boy drifting down the hall, wavering, growing more and more translucent as he went. Dongmin chased after him, heart pounding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he saw the boy disappear right next to a door Dongmin had never really noticed before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The name beside the door was Park Minhyuk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Heart pounding, Dongmin eased open the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy lying on the bed was pale, thin, hadn’t seen sunlight in a long time. He was sleeping. A woman was sleeping by his bedside, and a younger boy in a school uniform was curled up in a seat at the foot of the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin recognized the sneakers and headphones piled onto the chair in the corner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The heart monitor in the corner began to wail with a flatline.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman woke up, panicking. The younger boy in the uniform woke up and began to shout,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hyung!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin lunged for the button just inside the door to summon the nurses and doctors, and then he stepped aside for the staff to handle things. He could hear the younger boy crying and the woman crying and also comforting him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin pressed himself against the wall and felt his racing heart start to slow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He heard footsteps, and he looked up, saw the ghost of Park Minhyuk step out of the room. The familiar orchestral strains of Swan Lake trailed after him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiled at Dongmin, and then he walked down the hall toward a blaze of light.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Aliens</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sergeant Moon Bin of Atlantis’s AR-6 gate team learns that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to Rocky, the Pegasus native and former Runner on the team.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Bin had been assigned to Atlantis, he’d been excited and honored, because going to another galaxy was a big deal, and it meant his Gene strength was impressive. These days, strong natural Gene carriers had preference on assignment to Atlantis, and Bin’s entire team was natural Gene carriers. Bin was proud to be on AR-6, which was made up entirely of people from South Korea. Captain Park Jinwoo was a patient leader, and Corporal Yoon Sanha was an enthusiastic young airman. Dr. Kim Myungjun was a well-respected botanist, and for such a tiny man he was energetic and very brave.</p><p>And then there was Rocky, a former Runner from a planet no one had ever heard of, called Aroha.</p><p>Everyone on Atlantis knew about Ronon Dex, the former Runner from Sateda, who’d evaded the Wraith for seven years and now held a place on Atlantis’s flagship team, was a formidable warrior and an expert in anti-Wraith combat.</p><p>Rocky said little about his home planet, though he’d let slip details here and there - the oceans were inhabited by giant tentacled megafauna, among other things - and he hadn’t asked to dial its gate to see if there were survivors, unlike Ronon.</p><p>“I wasn’t a soldier, like Ronon was,” Rocky said once. “It wasn’t my job to fight, back home.”</p><p>But Rocky was a fierce fighter. He fought well with a sword, and with knives, and with plasma pistols, and even unarmed. He’d been a Runner since he was seventeen, he said. He was twenty-one when a team first encountered him off-world. He’d refused their help, insisted they were in danger if they helped him, and then when they’d explained they could remove his tracker and allow him to stop running, he’d hesitated.</p><p>But then he’d accepted.</p><p>When Bin had first joined the Stargate Program, he’d been sort of disappointed that most aliens were basically humans who lived on other planets. Jaffa looked mostly human. Wraith were mostly humanoid. Replicators tended to appear as human (though the giant robotic spiders Bin could do without). The Ancients were essentially human, or close enough that they could intermingle with them genetically. (The Asgard looked interesting, at least.) (The Ori and Priors more or less looked human, if the Orici was anything to go by.)</p><p>It wasn’t a secret, that Teyla wasn’t a hundred percent human, but the Athosians were, by and large, completely human. Some people wondered if Ronon was superhuman, for how big and strong he was. People joked that Rocky wasn’t human, given his lack of facial expressions, his lack of a sense of humor, and the way he was such a quick study at any physical task, like the time some of the nurses had taught him to do double-dutch jump rope and he’d figured it out on the first try. </p><p>Bin didn’t think Rocky was inhuman, though. Just awkward, perhaps, for having spent so long without proper human contact, and maybe also a bit quiet and shy as part of his natural personality even before he became a Runner. </p><p>“What did you do back home?” Myungjun asked Rocky. He was the boldest on the team.</p><p>Sometimes Sanha, who could be a bit blunt and insensitive, would ask overly personal questions, unaware of when he’d crossed a line, so Myungjun asked questions first.</p><p>“I was a dancer,” Rocky said.</p><p>Myungjun blinked. Jinwoo blinked.</p><p>Rocky was good at holding very still so Myungjun, who drew as a hobby, could sketch him.</p><p>“What kind of music did you dance to?” Jinwoo asked. “Obviously we wouldn’t have it, but we might have something like it.”</p><p>Rocky managed to do something similar to beatboxing to approximate a rhythm.</p><p>Jinwoo smiled. “I bet we could find something like that.”</p><p>Bin, who’d been reading a comic book, watched the rest of his team chatting, and wondered how Rocky had ended up as a Runner. He was a super strong Gene carrier, like everyone else on the team. Had the Wraith been unable to feed on him?</p><p>And then one day they were out on a routine stroll on a planet to check in with some natives they had a long-standing trade agreement with, and a dart came through the gate. Sanha took it down with a grenade launcher, but not before the pilot bailed.</p><p>Rocky sprinted across the grass and pounced on the Wraith. They tussled. Bin shouldered his rifle, but there was no way he could get a clean shot, not with Rocky in there.</p><p>And then the Wraith got one hand around Rocky’s neck, the other hand inside his shirt.</p><p>Rocky screamed.</p><p>Jinwoo drew his pistol and fired.</p><p>The Wraith staggered.</p><p>Rocky drew his sword and shoved it through the Wraith’s skull.</p><p>The Wraith dropped. Rocky spun and sliced off the Wraith’s feeding hand, spun again and shoved his sword through the Wraith’s heart.</p><p>Myungjun was beside him in an instant. “Are you all right?”</p><p>“Fine,” Rocky said, but he was panting, and Bin was pretty sure his hair had a silvery tinge to it.</p><p>Jinwoo hustled them back to the gate, dialed Atlantis. He radioed for medical to meet them in the gate room even though Rocky insisted he was fine.</p><p>Sanha tugged on Rocky’s collar, and Rocky’s shirt gaped, revealing the raw-looking gash from where the Wraith had gotten its feeding hand on him.</p><p>“You’re not fine,” Sanha snapped.</p><p>Amelia told them to come through, and Bin and Sanha nodded at each other, each grabbed Rocky by an arm, and hauled him through the gate.</p><p>Dr. Keller and Nurse Ko and a medical team were there to meet them.</p><p>“A Wraith fed on him,” Jinwoo said.</p><p>“I’m fine,” Rocky said again, but Bin and Sanha plunked him onto the gurney, and the entire team, Myungjun included, ran alongside the medical team as they headed for the transporter.</p><p>They hung back so the medical team could go first, then crowded into the transporter and headed for the infirmary.</p><p>When they arrived, Nurse Ko was putting a bandage on Rocky’s chest, Dr. Keller was frowning at him and waving an Ancient scanner over him, and he was glaring at her.</p><p>“Is he all right?” Jinwoo asked. “How many years did he lose?”</p><p>“Patient confidentiality,” Dr. Keller said brusquely.</p><p>“I’m fine,” Rocky said. He looked down at himself. “My shirt isn’t.” He sighed. “Better go ask Sergeant Yoo for a needle and thread.”</p><p>“Yah. Just get a new shirt,” Myungjun said. “But if you’re really attached to that shirt, I have a needle and thread.”</p><p>Rocky blinked. “Right. A new shirt.” He peeled his shirt off and dropped it into the little wastebasket beside his cot. “Thanks for the reminder, hyung.”</p><p>He’d picked up a lot of Korean by hanging around them even though everyone on Atlantis spoke English.</p><p>Rocky offered Nurse Ko and Dr. Keller a brief smile - or at least a brief flash of teeth - and said, “Thank you.” He inclined his head, and then he hopped off the cot. “I’ll go get a new shirt, and then I’ll write my report.”</p><p>Bin caught his shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay?”</p><p>“I’m <em> fine,” </em> Rocky said. He ducked out of Bin’s grip and grinned, flashing his dimples, though the expression didn’t reach his eyes, and strode out of the infirmary.</p><p>Bin heard someone in the hallway yelp.</p><p>A moment later, a couple of nurses came into the infirmary, giggling.</p><p>“Did you see his abs?”</p><p>“Wow.”</p><p>They saw Dr. Keller, and they cleared their throats, scurried to their duty stations.</p><p>“Is he really all right?” Jinwoo asked.</p><p>Dr. Keller said, “Without violating doctor-patient confidentiality, I can assure you that your teammate is in good health and will recover appropriately and won’t be stood down from duty. Now please go and make sure he gets a new shirt before the rest of my staff are distracted.”</p><p>“Right,” Myungjun said. He tapped his radio. “Kihyun, I need to requisition a couple of t-shirts.”</p><p>Jinwoo lifted his chin at Bin and Sanha. “Turn in your gear, clean up, go write your AARs. I’ll go make my preliminary report to Mr. Woolsey.”</p><p>Bin nodded, and he and Sanha headed back to the transporter. By the time Bin had turned in all his tac gear, showered, changed into a clean uniform, and made it to AR-6’s team office to type up his AAR, an hour had elapsed. Rocky wasn’t in the team office. Usually he hung out there to dictate his reports, though Myungjun and Jinwoo had been working with him patiently to teach him to read and write English so he could type his reports and send emails to other people and write notes if he wanted.</p><p>Bin finished his report first. He typed up a few emails to send to friends and family on the next databurst, and then he decided to look for Rocky, make sure he was all right. Rocky had quarters in the civilian section of the city, but he didn’t stay there often, and his room was empty. </p><p>Bin checked the kitchens, because Rocky liked to hang out there and pester the KP Marines about learning how to cook. Rocky wasn’t in the gym sparring or doing his individual martial arts forms. </p><p>Finally, Bin gave in and radioed control. “Chuck, I need a twenty on Rocky.”</p><p>“Roger that, Sergeant Moon. Rocky is on the balcony on level nineteen, west side. Sunbathing. Approach with caution.”</p><p>“Thanks, Chuck. Moon out.” Bin headed for the nearest transporter.</p><p>Rocky was notorious for liking to sunbathe in the buff, which wasn’t much of a big deal to some of the European members of the expedition, but the first time some Americans had stumbled upon him, they’d been pretty scandalized. </p><p>Bin, who’d grown up going to the sauna with other men, wasn’t overly scandalized, but he respected Rocky’s privacy and other people’s cultural senses of modesty, so he approached the balcony with caution. Rocky preferred to be left alone when he was sunbathing. It was his alone time, what he liked to do to recharge, and Bin understood that. But also Rocky had just been fed on by a Wraith, and he should be resting.</p><p>The habitable section of Atlantis was much bigger than it had been when the expedition first entered the city, but it was still only a fraction of the city, and it took Bin a while to circle around to the west side of level nineteen. He approached the balcony with caution. He spotted Rocky’s neat pile of belongings first - clothes folded, boots and weapons beside them.</p><p>And then Rocky, stretched out on his back in the sun, head tipped back, eyes closed.</p><p>Bin stared.</p><p>Not because he was entranced by Rocky’s miles of smooth golden skin or sleek, lean muscles.</p><p>But because the feeding scar on Rocky’s chest was gone.</p><p>And his hair was <em> pink. </em></p><p>Rocky’s eyes snapped open, and he rolled to his feet, scooped up his sword. His hair turned blue, and his eyes flared blue, and then he was poised to slash his sword at Bin, and his hair was black, and his eyes were brown, and all Bin could do was stare.</p><p><em> “What </em> are you?”</p><p>Rocky cast a hunted look around the balcony. Then he sheathed his sword and started tugging on his clothes. “You’re supposed to knock before coming onto the balcony when I’m sunbathing. Jinwoo said. It’s the rule.”</p><p>Bin fell back a step. “You’re not human.”</p><p>Rocky cast him a look, then proceeded to strap on all the small knife sheaths he wore under his clothes. “I’m half.”</p><p>“What’s your other half?” Bin asked. </p><p>“A race you’ve never heard of,” Rocky said. </p><p>“There are plenty of alien races we haven’t heard of yet.” Bin was pleased with how calm he sounded. </p><p>Rocky said, “I’ll never tell.”</p><p>“But you tell us about Aroha all the time,” Bin protested. Only what did any of AR-6 know about Rocky’s home world? Other than he’d been a dancer there and it had giant sea monsters. </p><p>Rocky said, “Aroha is the planet where I was raised, me and other Runners like me.”</p><p>“Other Runners?” Bin asked. </p><p>“Half-breeds. We train to fight, and we Run. They put trackers in us so the Wraith follow us, and we make sure they never go near our true home planet.” Rocky swallowed hard. “I should still be Running, to protect my planet. But you said you could destroy the Wraith. All of them. And if you do, then maybe I can go home. My brothers and sisters are out there still Running. If we find them, I’ll convince them to join us. Or maybe they’ll kill me for betraying Aroha. I don’t know.”</p><p>Bin said, “Your hair changed color.”</p><p>Rocky reached up, ran his fingers through his hair. “It does that, when I’m feeding.”</p><p>“Feeding?” Bin echoed. </p><p>“On sunlight.” Rocky pointed to the sky. </p><p>Bin stared at him. “That’s why the scar on your chest is gone. Why you have no scars. Why you said you were fine.”</p><p>“It’s why the Wraith want our home planet. We’re a renewable food source for them,” Rocky said. “It’s why we half-breeds Run.”</p><p>“Why you and not the full-breeds?”</p><p>“They’re not as strong. Humans are incredibly strong, in comparison.” Rocky bit his lip. “You can’t tell anyone. Dr. Keller and Nurse Ko know I’m not a regular human. No one else knows. If word gets out - if someone lets slip during a casual conversation offworld or when they’re drunk or captured - it could be the end of my people.”</p><p><em> Only some of your people, or half of your people, </em>Bin thought. What about the others who were out there, boys and girls who’d been deliberately turned into Runners?</p><p>But Bin nodded. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”</p><p>“Thank you.” Rocky finished arming himself to the teeth, and he headed for the door. “Want to go get some food?”</p><p>“Sure,” Bin said, and followed. </p><p>He watched Rocky over the next few days, curious to see if there were any other signs that he wasn’t fully human. Apart from the fact that he didn’t like coffee, which was just unnatural, he seemed human. He ate food. He slept. He was tired. He laughed. </p><p>He sunbathed whoever he could. Bin always made sure to knock before he went onto the balcony, and by the time Rocky called for him to come out, Rocky was wearing trousers, and his hair was black again. </p><p>But Rocky would let Bin sit with him, and he’d close his eyes and keep basking in the sun.</p><p>“How many colors can your hair turn?” Bin asked. </p><p>“Any color,” Rocky said absently. “I don’t really pay attention to what color it turns. Some people care a lot about the color, you know, have favorite colors or pick a special color to match their clothes for the day, but I don’t care.”</p><p>“It was pink the other day. The pink was cute,” Bin said. </p><p>“Cute?” Rocky echoed. He tilted his head, and his hair turned hot pink, starting at the roots and then spreading. “Like this?”</p><p>“Wow! But - no, it was softer. More pastel.”</p><p>“Oh. Like this?” </p><p>Another wave of color rippled through Rocky’s hair, and there it was, soft pink. </p><p>Bin nodded. “Yeah. Like that. That’s cute.” He reached out. “Can I touch it?”</p><p>Rocky snorted. “It’s just hair.” But he leaned in. </p><p>His hair was softer than it looked. </p><p>Bin snatched his hand back. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you - sorry.”</p><p>Rocky shrugged. “It’s just hair,” he said again. </p><p>“So - you feed on sunlight. Your hair changes different colors. Are you half flower?” Bin laughed. </p><p>Rocky narrowed his eyes. “Who told you that?”</p><p>Bin raised his hands in surrender. “Hold on, I was just joking. But - are you really half flower?”</p><p>“Something like that.” Rocky pressed his lips into a thin line, unimpressed. </p><p>“Is that why you like Myungjun? Because he loves flowers?”</p><p>“Myungjun-hyung is nice to me,” Rocky said. </p><p>“I’m nice to you, aren’t I?”</p><p>“Did I say I didn’t like you?”</p><p>“Aish, so savage. You’ve been hanging around Sanha too much.” But Bin smiled at Rocky. </p><p>Rocky smiled back, and Bin hoped that one day the galaxy would be a safer place so Rocky could go home, and so others of his kind could stop Running. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Shapeshifters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Written for the Disney comment_fic prompt: "Astro, Any, I've Got No Strings (Pinocchio)."</p><p>Sanha, Dongmin, and Myungjun go to rescue Minhyuk and encounter some strangeness on the way.</p><p>Or: the Blue Flame AU you never wanted.</p><p>Gen.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If somehow you've not seen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS7anrSXKrY">Blue Flame</a> maybe give it a watch now so you know where this is coming from.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Look, I’m just saying, maybe we shouldn’t go inside,” Sanha said. “The garden is creepy enough as it is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The garden is pretty,” Myungjun said. He reached out, curled his hand around a white blossom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin pointed to the mirror atop a pedestal that was hidden among the dark green foliage. “The garden is probably haunted.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three of them filed past the mirror as they headed toward the massive house on the other side of the vast, overgrown gardens. Sanha didn’t look in the mirror at his own reflection, but when he glanced back, he saw Myungjun look in it - and glimpsed Myungjun’s reflection. The boy in the mirror had Myungjun’s face, but his hair was a different color and style and he wore different clothes, and his smile was bright.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha shivered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They emerged from the veritable jungle and hurried up the steps to the massive front door, and Dongmin knocked on the door with the giant lion-head brass knocker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door swung open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning. Are they expecting you?” The young man who answered the door was short, even shorter than Myungjun, but broader across the chest. He held a massive book.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Dongmin said with utterly unwarranted confidence, lifting his chin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The young man nodded and flipped open the book, and -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha and Myungjun yelped and recoiled as flames exploded up from the pages.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man gazed at them through the flames, unfazed by the blaze, and then he said, “Welcome.” He clapped the book shut with one hand and showed them in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The foyer was massive and round, could have also been a ballroom. A pair of wide curving staircases led to the second floor, but the young man led them straight down the main hallway to what looked like a throne room of sorts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a monument against the back wall, massive and circular and glowing, like a full moon, and an altar. The throne room was decorated with flowing dark blue silks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll see you shortly,” the young man said, and bowed, then ducked out of the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The doors closed behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun, Sanha, and Dongmin clustered close together, nervous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the center of the room, a white blossom, like the kind that had been in the garden, was preserved under a bell jar atop a circular wooden table. Was it a display, or something else?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why did it seem like the flower was imprisoned?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha glanced around and saw, in the corner, what looked like another prison, though instead of bars its walls were made of strings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who is ‘he’?” Dongmin asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do we even want to find out?” Myungjun asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we want to get Minhyuk back, yes,” Dongmin said. “Minhyuk came here to find his brother, and he inquired with the lord of the manor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obviously ‘he’ is the lord of the manor,” Sanha said. “Right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lightning flashed, and thunder rolled in the distance, which made no sense, because the room had no windows, only - only there was someone sitting atop the altar at the far end of the room, in front of the moon monument.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha glimpsed a bare, muscular back, a gleaming chain, and glowing eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun let out a high-pitched noise and grabbed Dongmin’s arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was another loud peal of thunder, and then - </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then a beautiful man was sitting atop the altar, his bare back to them. He had a chain wrapped around his wrist, and the chain was restraining a giant wolf.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin swore and fell back a step. Myungjun whimpered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man said, “What do you want?” His voice was a surprisingly light tenor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha fumbled a bow. “My lord,” he said, as respectfully as he could muster, unable to take his eyes off of the wolf, “we’re looking for our friend. He came through here a while ago in search of his younger brother.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man reached down, stroked the wolf’s head, and said, “Your friend? No boys have come through here. All I have is my servant Jinwoo - and my lovely wolf. And my lovely flowers.” He smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha felt unease curl through him. He said, “Thank you, my lord.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man turned away and said, “Show yourselves out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three of them nodded and started to back toward the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha heard the rattle of a chain - and then he saw the wolf leap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he saw the strings of the cage vibrating like they’d been plucked, and he heard a deep note vibrate through the entire building, and then - </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then there was Minhyuk, inside the cage, trying to claw his way out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Sanha knew. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man made a mocking, crooning noise, tugged on the strings of the cage, and there was another deep note. Minhyuk lunged but came up short when he tangled in the strings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha reached out and plucked up the bell jar, cast it aside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man whipped around. “What are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha reached toward the white flower - but there was a flash of light, and then Minseok, Minhyuk’s little brother, clad in beautiful flowing white, was sitting atop the little round table, blinking and dazed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk threw his head back and let out a bestial roar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun grabbed Minseok’s hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin grabbed Minseok’s other hand, and they headed for the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The doors flew open, and there was the other man - the servant, Jinwoo? - and he opened his book, and there was a burst of flame, but Dongmin managed to knock the book out of his hands, and then all four of them were running for the doors and tearing through the garden.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But my hyung!” Minseok sobbed, stumbling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll come back for him,” Sanha promised. “But not today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They’d come back with scissors and blades and cut all the strings and get Minhyuk back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then they’d burn that house down.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. 6. Undead</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jinwoo moonlights and runs into a creature he thought didn't really exist.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jinwoo knocked on the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It swung open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo flipped open his jacket, flashing his badge. “Detective Park Jinwoo, Seoul Metropolitan Police.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The young man who’d answered the door was impossibly handsome. He blinked. “Do you have a warrant?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took Jinwoo a moment to collect himself. “Ah, apologies.” He let his jacket fall closed, scrubbed a hand over his face. “It’s been a long day. I mean, I’m Park Jinwoo, the drummer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But also a detective with the Seoul Metropolitan Police?” The young man at the door was tall, with pale, even features, soft lips, glossy hair. He looked like a model or a leading man from a drama or possibly an angel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had been a very long day for Jinwoo, because he’d obviously lost his mind. “Yes, that’s my day job, but I really am a qualified drummer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gaeun recommended you, so I trust her judgment,” the man said. “I’m Lee Dongmin. Please, come in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin stepped back and held the door open wider, let Jinwoo into the studio.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jinwoo-hyung! I didn’t realize you’d be here.” Sanha, who usually had the booth beside Myungjun’s at the Friday night street fair in Itaewon, sat on a stool beside the piano, tuning his guitar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know each other?” Dongmin asked. He sat at the piano, rolled his wrists. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course, he had perfect posture. Compared to Sanha, who was dressed like a skater boy, and Jinwoo, who was dressed like, well, a plainclothes police detective, Dongmin was dressed like a chaebol heir in expensive slacks and a mandarin collar button-down shirt that was so white it practically glowed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Sanha said. “You know Myungjun-hyung, the artist who has a booth next to mine at the fair. He’s a police sketch artist.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, and Jinwoo-ssi is a police detective.” Dongmin smiled, and he transformed from an ice prince into the sweetest creature alive, his eyes crinkling up into half moons.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry I’m late, hyung.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The studio door swung open, and another young man entered, carrying an instrument case. He was taller than Jinwoo but definitely shorter than Sanha and Dongmin, slender, wearing dark jeans and a gray hoodie. He set down his case and flipped it open, drew out a large electronic bass guitar, and plugged it into a nearby amp. He perched on a stool and affixed a purple strap to the bass, then set about tuning it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked familiar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo had seen his face in Myungjun’s sketchbook.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is Park Minhyuk, my partner here at the studio,” Dongmin said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk inclined his head politely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You already know Sanha,” Dongmin said. “This is Park Jinwoo, the drummer who came highly recommended by Gaeun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo waved and fished his drum sticks out of his jacket pocket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin distributed the sheet music, then turned on the guide track for them to hear, which was all electronic instruments but helpful all the same. They were recording the backing track for a simple pop song that was all acoustic save for the bass line.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can modify the arrangement ourselves to improve it,” Dongmin said. He added, “You’re a bit out of tune on that E string.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk frowned and plucked at his bass some more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready?” Dongmin asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The others confirmed that they were. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin signaled to the engineers in the studio - Kangjoon and Taehwan - and Jinwoo counted them in, and they began to play.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo had originally learned to play drums by ear, but he’d eventually learned to read sheet music, which was a good thing. Being able to sight-read drum music was a complicated skill, and he was glad he’d challenged himself to learn it, because he was responsible for keeping everyone else in line.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They managed to get a clean version of the song in one take, and then they took a break while the producer listened to it and made suggestions about the arrangement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once Jinwoo had a solid beat recorded, he stepped out, and then Minhyuk recorded his part, and Dongmin his part, and finally Sanha his part.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo stayed in the mixing booth, watching, fascinated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk vanished as soon as his part was done, citing hunger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin came to stand beside Jinwoo at the window. “Is this your first time in a recording studio?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is,” Jinwoo admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin glanced at him and smiled. “Well, you’re very skilled and professional, so I’d have never known it was your first time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Jinwoo said, feeling his pulse jump at Dongmin’s smile. He turned back to watch Sanha record, try to understand Sanha’s dialogue with the producer, and Dongmin vanished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo spun, surprised, because Dongmin hadn’t mentioned he was going to go anywhere, but Dongmin was standing right beside him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo blinked, confused. Why had he thought Dongmin had left? Dongmin was watching Sanha as well, expression fond, as if Sanha were one of his younger brothers. Jinwoo turned back to watch Sanha through the window, and Dongmin disappeared again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin was still standing beside Jinwoo. Jinwoo could see Dongmin out of the corner of his eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Dongmin had no reflection in the studio window.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin was a vampire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo’s heart crawled into his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d heard about vampires all growing up, but he’d never believed in the legends. Everyone had a story about how someone’s great-aunt or second cousin had seen one, talked to one, flirted with one, nearly been fed on by one, escaped from one. But they’d been eradicated by the government, right? Hunted down and killed in the Great Purge before the Japanese Occupation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps some had escaped, of course, lived in hiding, and as long as they stayed hidden, no one cared. Being a vampire wasn’t technically illegal, and killing a vampire was technically illegal, and theoretically, as long as a vampire paid his taxes, as an officer of the law, Jinwoo was supposed to live and let live.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Jinwoo had also sincerely believed that no more vampires existed, or so few existed that he’d never meet one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was that why Dongmin was so handsome? Because he was undead? So he could lure prey?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The studio door opened, and Minhyuk returned with a couple of juice packs in hand. Tomato juice, the label on them said, but they weren’t any brand Jinwoo recognized.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk handed one to Dongmin, and then he opened one himself and began draining it steadily, gaze on Sanha all the while, nodding along to the music absently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo watched the deep red liquid flow through the straw and knew it was all the wrong color for tomato juice and all the right color for blood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tore his gaze away, but not fast enough. Dongmin glanced over and caught him staring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin finished the juice pack with a slurp, crumpled it into a ball with his fist. He threw it across the studio in a neat arc, and it landed soundlessly in the wastebasket on the far side of the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo wouldn’t have expected so refined-looking a man to be so athletic. Dongmin seemed the more bookish, artistic type.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But if he were a vampire, he’d have superhuman strength and reflexes and dexterity and -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds good,” the producer said. “Minhyuk, Sanha, can you give me some backup vocals? The rest of you are done for the night. Great job as always, Dongmin-ah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, PD-nim.” Dongmin inclined his head politely and swept toward the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo hesitated, then followed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, you know,” Dongmin said as soon as the door clicked shut behind Jinwoo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He started violently. “Don’t sneak up on people like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Apologies,” Dongmin said. “I have superhuman hearing, and I forget that humans can’t hear me sometimes, because other vampires can always hear me. How did you figure it out? Was it my ‘tomato juice’?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You had no reflection in the window,” Jinwoo said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah. Of course.” Dongmin looked chagrined. “I forgot. I usually stay away from windows. But I am quite fond of Sanha.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to do anything to you,” Jinwoo said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a lot you could do to ruin my life without doing anything directly to me,” Dongmin said, and his tone turned cool. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo winced. “I really don’t want to ruin your life. I’ll admit I was shocked when I first realized what you are, and yes I’m a police detective, but you haven’t committed any crimes as far as I know, so for tonight, you’re a talented musician, and very handsome, and I am very honored I was able to work with you, and - and tell Gaeun thank you for the opportunity and I’ll be glad to help out in the future.” He started for the main doors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin said, “You think I’m handsome?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo paused. “...That’s the part you focus on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin shrugged one shoulder. “People say it a lot, but you’re the first person who wouldn’t have a reason to lie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you </span>
  <em>
    <span>looked</span>
  </em>
  <span> in a mirror?” Jinwoo asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not in a couple hundred years,” Dongmin said flatly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah. Right. Then there are no photographs of you either, are there?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin just looked at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you’re handsome,” Jinwoo said finally. “Very handsome.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin tilted his head, eyes narrowed. “You really do think so, but…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what?” Jinwoo asked. “Why would I lie to you? Why does everyone lie to you about how handsome you are? You think an awful lot of yourself. Besides, aren’t all vampires incredibly handsome? Doesn’t that make it easier to, ah, drink from humans?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t drink from humans, as you noticed earlier tonight,” Dongmin said peevishly. “Humans are afraid of dying. They think if they flatter me, I’ll make them immortal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo shook his head. “I wouldn’t want to live forever. Living is fun, but it’s also exhausting. Besides, why settle for one life? If I do well in this life, I’ll get to do something amazing with my next. I’ve been told this is my first life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re the first person I’ve ever heard say such a thing,” Dongmin said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! I’m sorry, is that insensitive? Since you’ll never move on to your next life. Unless this is your third life?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin laughed suddenly, and his eyes crinkled up again with one of those beautiful smiles. “You really are unlike any human I’ve ever met.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve probably met a lot of humans,” Jinwoo said, thinking of how Dongmin had said he hadn’t seen his own reflection in a couple of centuries. No wonder he’d been able to avoid the Great Purge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have. I hope I see you often in this life - and that I’ll get to see you in your next life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo raised his eyebrows. “You think you’d be able to recognize me in my next life? I could be a woman or an animal or a rock.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin leaned in and searched Jinwoo’s gaze. “I think, if we see each other often in this life, I will recognize you in your next life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you’re an animal in your next life, you’ll be something cute, like a puppy.” Dongmin smiled again, and Jinwoo felt his heart flutter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cleared his throat. “Have you been talking to Myungjun and Bin?” he asked, trying to sound indignant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know who Bin is, so no. As for Myungjun-ssi, I haven’t seen him since the street fair a few weeks back,” Dongmin said. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never mind.” Jinwoo’s phone buzzed in his pocket. “Pardon me.” He fished it out and checked it. Message from Bin. Emergency. All hands on deck. Bin had included three green bottle emojis. They’d need to get very drunk after this crime scene. “Apologies, Dongmin-ssi. I have to go. My day job is calling.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And yet it’s the middle of the night.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is,” Jinwoo said. He bowed and headed for the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Be safe,” Dongmin called after him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll try,” Jinwoo said. He supposed there was a certain irony in a vampire telling him to be safe, but he figured it was better if the vampire wanted him to keep safe than if the vampire wanted to hurt him. Jinwoo took a deep breath and headed into the night and reminded himself that he faced real monsters on the regular, and none of them had been vampires, and none of them had looked like Lee Dongmin.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Cookies to whoever spots the stealth crossovers (there are two).</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Mythological</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Myungjun may or not be the reason Minhyuk and the others were chosen as vessels for the angels at Soul Plate. He'll help Minhyuk free the others - if he can.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sequel to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25621885/chapters/66350870">this</a> little piece, and a bit of an SPN crossover. Stealth crossover as well.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When the lean kid with the high cheekbones had showed up outside of Myungjun’s advanced CAD class and said, “Remember me?” Myungjun’s first instinct had been to say, “No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then he’d really </span>
  <em>
    <span>looked</span>
  </em>
  <span> at the kid, with his intense dark eyes and pretty full lips and narrow hips, and the kid was familiar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Park Minhyuk,” the boy said. “But you might remember me better as Rumiel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The name set off fireworks behind Myungjun’s eyes, a lightning storm ricocheting through his skull, and suddenly he remembered. Kneeling in the small chapel in the hospital after his mother’s latest remission, begging for a miracle so she would be saved. The little top-floor restaurant with the pink and purple glowing sign.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the massive celestial entity that had crammed itself into his body, the one that called itself Raoniel, the one that had promised to take him for </span>
  <em>
    <span>just a while, just a season,</span>
  </em>
  <span> in exchange for healing his mother’s cancer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then set him free.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun staggered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk reached out to steady him, but Myungjun swatted his hand aside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t touch me,” Myungjun snapped. “What do you want? What are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re free,” Minhyuk said. “You’ve been replaced by an older man named Jo Kwon - Raoniel is possessing him instead. But Sanha and Jinwoo and Bin are still there. And Dongmin-hyung is still there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who?” Myungjun asked. His heart was racing. He couldn’t breathe. He was panicking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mirel and Ariel and Muriel and Raviel,” Minhyuk said. “Sanha and Jinwoo and Bin are like you and me - they get released and get to go home at the end of the day. I think soon we’ll be like you; we’ll get released and replaced by other humans. But Raviel never lets Dongmin-hyung go, and I don’t know if he’ll ever be set free.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t answer my question.” Myungjun curled his hand into a fist on the doorframe to keep himself upright.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need your help to free the others.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How?” Myungjun asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You still have an angel’s grace in you,” Minhyuk said. “So do I, even when Rumiel is gone. I think we can access some of that magic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Magic,” Myungjun echoed, unable to believe what he was hearing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why should I help you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because,” Minhyuk said, “I think you got set free first because they heard your voice first. You’re the reason they’re here. So you should help us make them go away.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Myungjun and Minhyuk were huddled in Minhyuk’s little one-bedroom apartment that, by all accounts, he’d shared with his boyfriend Dongmin (which Myungjun would have been hard-pressed to believe if not for the photos of Minhyuk and Dongmin around the apartment, although it was hard to believe that anyone who wasn’t a supermodel or celebrity was dating someone as handsome as Dongmin) before Dongmin had been taken by the angel Raviel for reasons neither of them knew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun had prayed to an angel for a cure for his mother’s cancer. Minhyuk had prayed to an angel to heal his brother, who’d been in a terrible car accident; his brother had been being treated in the same hospital as Myungjun’s mother. Why any of the others had come to an angel’s attention sufficient to be taken possession by them, neither Minhyuk nor Myungjun knew, though they suspected that hospital was the common denominator.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neither of them knew why Minhyuk was the only one who was aware of being possessed - and could access Rumiel’s residual grace when Rumiel was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun wouldn’t have believed any of this madness, except when he’d followed Minhyuk to the building where the Soul Plate restaurant was housed, he’d seen the pink and purple sign light up in the third storey window, seen Bin and Jinwoo and Sanha and a strange man who Minhyuk identified as Jo Kwon drifting toward the building in a daze, ready to start their shift.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And now Myungjun was watching Minhyuk murmur an incantation in what he said was Enochian, the language of angels that sounded like gibberish, so he could access Rumiel’s grace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk sat cross-legged in the middle of his floor, an old leather-bound book open in front of him filled with weird curly and angular writing that wasn’t English or any language Myungjun had seen before, chanting to himself. Then Minhyuk lifted his head and opened his eyes - and his eyes glowed blue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun swore and recoiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then Minhyuk blinked, and the light faded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk scooped up his cellphone, and he tilted his head, listening to something only he heard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Myungjun asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listening to angel radio,” Minhyuk said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun frowned. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Angels speak to each other on wavelengths humans can’t usually hear,” Minhyuk said. “There are other humans who can help us with what we want. I’m listening to the angels gossip, for lack of a better word. There.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he dialed a number.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun scooted closer to Minhyuk. “Is it really that simple?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk turned the phone around so Myungjun could see. The phone was ringing. The number had a foreign country code. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A moment later, someone answered. A man. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hello?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He answered in English.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun could only stare as Minhyuk held a conversation in fluent English, Minhyuk who, he was pretty sure, spoke no English.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The English-speaking man sounded sleepy at first, then alarmed, and then he was joined by a second man. Somehow Minhyuk managed to convince the two strangers to turn on a video call. Myungjun leaned in to peer at the strangers. They were older, handsome, one with dark golden hair and green eyes and freckles, the other with brown hair and hazel eyes and a little beauty mark on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun waved tentatively, offered a smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who are they?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“People who can help us,” Minhyuk said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A third man appeared in the video call on the other end. He had dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He spoke fluent Korean.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What you’re asking isn’t impossible,” he said. “But offspring of Raphael are powerful in their own right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We want our friends back,” Minhyuk said. “Enough is enough. Will you help us or not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll help you,” the third man said. “You’ll need holy oil, and several key sigils. You can banish an angel temporarily from its host, but they can always return to repossess it, assuming the host comes from the proper bloodline.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bloodline?” Myungjun echoed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man nodded. “There are also spells to temporarily suppress an angel within its host, but once consent has been given, the angel’s possession is endless until consent is revoked.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell us everything,” Minhyuk said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> you?” Myungjun asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man said, “My name is Castiel, and I’m an angel.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Minhyuk had done frightening amounts of planning before he’d approached Myungjun. He’d followed Bin, Sanha, Jinwoo, and Kwon, and memorized all their daily schedules. Every hour of every day of every week was mapped out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here,” Minhyuk said, unrolling a massive poster on Myungjun’s desk. It was color-coordinated, one color for each man. “We’ll need time to set up the suppression sigils, explain what’s going on, prep the banishing sigils, and then activate the banishing or suppression sigils. I’ve marked the best window for each man here, here, here, and here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun stared at the poster. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“How</span>
  </em>
  <span> long have you and Dongmin been dating?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want him back,” Minhyuk said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun said, “Okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They started with Kwon, who had the easiest schedule to work with and was also the least physically imposing target, even though Minyuk had a fourth-degree black belt in taekwondo. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because Myungjun had steady artist’s hands, he drew the angelic suppression sigils in a circle outside of the music hagwon where Kwon taught private singing lessons during the day. Minhyuk pounced on Kwon when he stepped out of the building on his way to Soul Plate, and Myungjun activated the sigils.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kwon came out of his daze, pressed a hand to his forehead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where am I going? What am I doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk did the fast talking, because he was the one who knew the details and also he was an amateur rapper and could talk really fast if he had something memorized.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kwon stared at him, confused. “What? But that’s -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Insane?” Minhyuk asked. “Then why are you wearing that necklace?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kwon looked down at himself and frowned. “This necklace? I...don’t recall ever owning this necklace.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because it’s the necklace needed to get into the restaurant. It’s an angelic charm. I know what I said sounds insane, but it’s real,” Minhyuk said. “Take a good look at me. I’m Rumiel, from the restaurant.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kwon furrowed his brow, and then he doubled over, clutching his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun could sympathize.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk crouched down and put a hand on Kwon’s shoulder to steady him. “I don’t know why you prayed for help. I don’t know if angelic possession is a price worth paying. If it is, we’ll walk away and let you continue to the restaurant. But if you want to be free -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kwon grabbed Minhyuk’s wrist. “Free me.”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Sanha was a good Christian boy, wasn’t interested in being set free, especially since he knew he’d be released from his time as a vessel eventually, and he didn’t mind serving as an angelic vessel in exchange for a miracle. Jinwoo and Bin were interested in being set free. They agreed to help set Dongmin free from Raviel, and once they’d been marked with suppression sigils, they donned their uniforms like normal, and they headed for Soul Plate at the usual time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun went instead of Kwon, as Kwon had surrendered his Soul Plate necklace quite willingly, and changed into his uniform as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hyung?” Minhyuk asked, heading into the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin stood beside the stove, arms crossed over his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha - Mirel already - headed for the host stand, iPad in hand, humming happily to himself and already cueing up the night’s guest list (and also his drama list; Sanha himself didn’t really care that much for dramas, preferring video games as his mindless entertainment).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dongmin-hyung?” Minhyuk asked, trying one last time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bin went to Muriel’s regular kitchen station.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo bustled around the dining room, straightening chairs, fluffing the flowers in the little vases on the tables but keeping an eye on the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun crouched down, creeping around the kitchen and drawing angelic suppression runes with chalk markers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Raviel said, with Dongmin’s voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hyung, it’s me, Minhyukie,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bin, at the sous-chef’s station, gave Myungjun the signal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun activated the sigils, then popped up, ready to activate a banishing sigil if needed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raviel staggered. His eyes went wide, flared blue. He caught himself against the counter. Minhyuk lunged and caught him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hyung!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then Dongmin was in Minhyuk’s arms, holding him. “Minhyukie, what -?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We did some magic to suppress Raviel, but I don’t know how long it will last,” Minhyuk said. “Are you all right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Dongmin asked. “You did what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can free you from Raviel,” Minhyuk said. “We freed Kwon and we’re going to free me and Bin and Jinwoo. Sanha didn’t want to be freed. Do you want to be freed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin’s eyes went wide. “What? No, Minhyukie, what did you do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to set the others free. I can set you free. The rest of us get to be free for a few hours every night, but you, you never get to be free, and it isn’t right, and I missed you, and -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin grabbed him. “Minhyukie, no.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But Dongminie-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I consented to being Raviel’s vessel for a reason.” Dongmin wrapped his arms around Minhyuk and held him tightly. “You don’t remember that night after the movie, do you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk clung to Dongmin. “What movie?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When we went to see Parasite,” Dongmin said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk blinked. “We never got a chance to go see that. I’ve been waiting to see that with you. We were going to go for our three hundredth day -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun saw the moment Minhyuk stumbled, was overwhelmed by memories. Minhyuk clutched his head and whimpered, and Dongmin held him, kept him on his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had to do it,” Dongmin said, low and fast and desperate. “They came out of nowhere, and there were so many of them, and you did your best, but they were strong and they had pipes and bats, and the doctor said you’d never walk again, never dance again, and I couldn’t let you give up your dream, so - I prayed. I prayed so hard. Raviel said if I gave him a year, he’d save you. He said if I let him have me with no breaks, it’d be six months instead of a year.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk let out a small, broken noise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t do anything,” Dongmin said. “Promise me. Just hold on a little longer. If the others want to be free, that’s their choice, but I knew what I was doing when I said yes. I’d do anything for you, all right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dongminie -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin silenced Minhyuk with a kiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bin, armed with a knife and ready to cut himself and lend his blood to a banishing sigil, stared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo, in the doorway, bit his lip and said nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun let his hand fall to his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I tried to wait, I did,” Minhyuk said. “But then I started listening to angel radio, to the sounds of angels going to war and their human vessels dying -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not like that here, and it won’t be like that here, I promise,” Dongmin said. He smoothed a hand over Minhyuk’s hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But Raphael is dead, and there was another war in Heaven, and -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin held Minhyuk tightly. “Raviel and his team aren’t like other angels. Please, hold on just a little longer. For both of us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk buried his face against Dongmin’s neck and nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo and Bin looked at each other, looked down at the pretty necklaces they wore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then Minhyuk stepped back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin said, “You should let Raviel and the other angels up. They’re going to be annoyed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Minhyuk said. “I didn’t remember.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I asked Rumiel to erase your memory,” Dongmin said. “You had a really hard time after. I should have known that you’d do something drastic to try to protect me and the others. You always try to protect me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin leaned in and kissed Minhyuk again. Myungjun and the others looked away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bin staggered suddenly, clutching his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The angels must be fighting back,” Jinwoo said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d better go,” Myungjun said. “Humans aren’t allowed in here without an invitation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do have the necklace,” Minhyuk said. “And you still have some grace. Dongminie -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on,” Dongmin said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun felt the entire building shudder, and there was an explosion of blinding blue light.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he was standing in his apartment, not entirely sure how he’d gotten there, and he was holding a broken chain.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Experiments</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Max and the Transgenics in Terminal City have some new additions to the Freak Nation - from a new country, and a new series.</p><p>Crossover with Dark Angel.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I messed with the timelines a whole lot, obviously, since Dark Angel is set in 2009.</p><p>Also...clone!romance. References to violence and torture.</p><p>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/vonseal/pseuds/vonseal">vonseal</a>.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I don’t trust him,” Alec said, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at the boy who stood at the gate of Terminal City.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obviously he’s one of us, or he wouldn’t have made it this far,” Gem said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max leaned against the gate post and smirked. “Alec’s just jealous because he’s not the prettiest boy in Terminal City anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyone who looks at his face has to know it’s not natural.” Alec gestured at the boy, who stood calmly amidst the scrutiny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think our good looks were taken into account when our donors were picked for cloning,” Dalton said, chewing idly on a popsicle stick.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure they were,” Gem said. “Good looks smooth the way for a lot of espionage.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Speak for yourself,” Mole said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gem winced. “Some types of espionage.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you think?” Max asked Joshua.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua sniffed the air tentatively. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s he got in his mix?” Max asked. She and Alec and others in the X5 series had cat. The X7’s had bat, so they could echolocate and communicate almost telepathically.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua said, “He’s human.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But he’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>here.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Gem frowned and straightened up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s your name?” Max asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy said, “Lee Dongmin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max straightened up. He really was human. “Look, it’s not safe for you to be here. If you’re interested in supporting the transgenic cause, that’s great, but really, it’s literally unsafe for you here. You should retreat to a different sector of Seattle, and we can put you in touch with a liaison.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec said, “What’s your designation, pretty boy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Z7-330.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Z?” Max asked. She looked at Mole and Gem and Dalton. “There’s a Z series?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy tilted his head and smiled. Before, he’d looked like a male Snow White, tall and slender, pale-skinned with jet-black hair and perfectly neat, even, features, soft red lips and bright dark eyes. When he smiled, his eyes crinkled up into little half moons, and he looked adorable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mole actually made a soft cooing noise. So did Joshua.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The X series was just the American division. I’m from another division.” The boy spoke English with a faint accent, but not one Max could identify.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She and Alec looked at each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Manticore was based on a Native American breeding cult, right?” Max asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy —Lee Dongmin, Z7-330 — said, “Yes, but not all their supplies and scientists were American, were they? Not by a long shot. America wasn’t the leading nation in science and technology before the Pulse, and since the Pulse, it’s fallen further behind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then where are you from?” Alec asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“South Korea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you get here?” Gem asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a Z7. I escaped, me and some of my brothers. We’d heard there was a free nation here. We wanted to join. Will you have me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So...you’re completely human?” Max asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What can you do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want me to do?”</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“Alec’s losing his mind,” Gem said. She was doing tummy time with Eve while Alec and Mole and Dalton were allegedly doing an initial assessment on Dongmin but were really doing an initiation and hazing ritual.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything Alec can do, Dongmin can do better,” Max sing-songed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She grinned when Alec plunked Dongmin down in front of the piano and told him to play a song, and Dongmin played a flawless chaconne.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t recognize that piece,” Alec said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin shrugged. “I wrote it myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec scowled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, he’s from a more advanced series, so why is Alec surprised?” Cindy asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though Terminal City was dangerous to humans, they could come visit for short periods, and Cindy and Asha were familiar and friendly faces among the transgenic locals.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, different series were engineered for different things —like the Psy Ops division was typically less useful at physical combat,” Mole said. “So there should be some things Dongmin is terrible at. To balance things out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like what?” Cindy asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dancing. Dongmin was terrible at dancing. He was stiff and awkward when Alec put on some music, unsure of what to do with his limbs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few minutes of him shuffling to a pop song, Alec gleefully declared his assessment complete, and Dongmin was welcomed to the Freak Nation with open arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All he had with him were some clothes, some food and water, some weapons he’d improvised along the way, a notebook filled with a bunch of languages —none of which were English — and a picture of his brothers, five other handsome young men.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had no barcode.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was definitely a transgenic, though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have a what now?” Alec asked, while everyone was sitting around a bonfire roasting hotdogs for what was ostensibly Dongmin’s welcome dinner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A QR code,” he said, and tilted his head slightly so they could all see the little square tattoo behind his left ear. It looked like a weird modern art blocky tattoo. It was a lot more subtle than a barcode, that was for sure. “You take a picture with a phone and the image is turned into data. It doesn’t require a special barcode scanner. Anyone with a smartphone can access my data. It makes me and my handlers more inconspicuous when I’m in the field.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he’d been working active missions before he’d escaped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How many were in your series?” Max asked. If he had the designation 330, his series must have been at least three hundred and some large, but not every soldier in a series survived to adulthood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The furthest in the series I knew was 777,” Dongmin said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does 777 have a name? Or do you have a name because you’re special? Or because you went into the field?” Dalton asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was given a name to go into the field,” Dongmin said, “although sometimes for jobs I was required to take an alias. 777 had no name.” His gazed darkened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When do you think your brothers will get here?” Dalton asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Soon.” Dongmin smiled fondly to himself.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Because Dongmin could pass as fully human, he was able to leave Terminal City and find odd jobs — as a piano tutor for a wealthy family (Alec was unamused at the irony), as a clerk at a law office, as an assistant at a medical clinic — and earn money to bring back to the others, so as much as Alec was annoyed by Dongmin’s general presence (especially since he learned some dance moves from Cindy and was a passable dancer when someone turned on some music), they were glad to have him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Dongmin’s brothers to arrive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first was Jinwoo, Z7-315, who was short, but broad and strong across the chest and shoulders. He showed up in the middle of the night, huddled in a dark hoodie. His hair was bleached bright blond but blue at the tips, and he looked like a hip-hop dancer. He looked entirely human, but Joshua said he smelled like a fish. He could, on command, manifest an exoskeleton that was similar to a turtle shell. He’d been made for battle. He had a deep voice and endless patience. He understood English well but was hesitant about speaking it, and he spoke very slowly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoon Sanha rolled up to the gate on a skateboard in broad daylight. He was tall and slender, had dark hair with blue highlights. He barely spoke English, just hollered at the gate, </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yah! Jinwoo-hyung!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max, who’d been alerted by movement on the security cams, was already standing at the gate. Dongmin and Jinwoo had been standing with her, reporting in about the work they’d done that week. Jinwoo was supernaturally strong and picked up day jobs as a laborer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin had looked furious, but Jinwoo had just sighed with much longsuffering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha, designation Z7-321, was a shapeshifter, could change his face and voice and hair at will to mimic others. He was limited by his ability to imitate their speech patterns and speak their language, and he couldn’t alter his height or build, but the first time Alec encountered two of Dongmin, one of whom could dance quite well (Sanha had learned from Jinwoo, who’d learned from a sentimental trainer at the facility), Max was amused and also privately a little terrified.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s the point of that skill?” Alec asked once he finally recovered from the shock of it. “Besides infiltration.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you good at combat too?” Mole asked. Despite the language barrier, he felt a sort of kinship with Jinwoo and had taken to showing him around Terminal City and teaching him English and also training with him. They needed all hands on deck for when the next attack — and there would be a next attack — showed up on their doorstep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everyone in the Z7 series is good at combat,” Dongmin said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec got that look on his face, like he wanted to take Sanha out for a sparring match.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha said, “Is Eyes Only a friend?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max narrowed her eyes. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha held out Gem’s phone that he’d been using to play a little game with. “His real name is Logan Cale. I found his address, if you want it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like Dongmin, Sanha could learn new skills very quickly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin said, “Sanha is a hacker.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a cyborg,” Sanha said. “I can interface directly with technology to access systems quickly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was whole new levels of creepy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Max said, “Eyes Only is our friend. Please don’t tell anyone his real name.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But also don’t pay any attention if you hear Max shouting it out, if you know what I mean,” Alec added, waggling his eyebrows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha looked confused. “I don’t know what you mean.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo hooted. Dongmin looked scandalized and covered Sanha’s ears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha rolled his eyes. “Sex. You were talking about sex. Logan Cale is Max’s boyfriend and he visits and they have sex. Say what you mean!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Alec said, smirking at Max. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do not,” she said. “Everyone get out of my office. Now. And Gem — keep the kids away from your phone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha pouted, because he liked the little games on her phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gem, busy feeding Eve, nodded distractedly. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The next person to show up at their doorstep was a tall, broad-shouldered, muscular man with a sweet, pretty face — and a pet wolf at his side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua hung back and growled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello,” the man said, and he had a surprisingly light, sweet tenor voice. “I am Moon Bin, twenty three.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your name is Moon Bean?” Max asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s your designation?” Alec pressed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man’s sweet smile vanished. “Z7-126.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Binnie,” Dongmin said, dashing down to the gate. He reached between the bars, and they clasped hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course he’s one of your brothers,” Alec muttered. “The factory settings must have been hella pretty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not one to talk,” Max said. She signaled to Mole and Dalton to open the gate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua growled again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s up with your pet?” Max asked. “He need rabies shots?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only Sanha knelt and held his arms out and cooed, “Rocky-ah!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The wolf leapt at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua growled and yanked Sanha back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The wolf pounced on Sanha — and licked his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should have seen that coming,” Alec muttered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> your pet?” Max asked Moon Bin, who was hugging Dongmin and Jinwoo hello. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No way would the trainers at Manticore have let them have pets. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, not a pet,” Bin said, frowning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then the wolf sat back on its haunches, and its fur rippled — and it was a naked boy in a crouch: sleek golden skin, lean muscle, high cheekbones, dark eyes, dark hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec swore. Max swore. Gem swore and immediately covered Eve’s ears. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you have any clothes for Minhyuk?” Dongmin asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bin was already digging around in his pack. He tossed a bundle of cloth at the naked boy crouching beside Sanha. The boy - Minhyuk - reached up and caught the clothes midair without turning his head, murmured thanks, and squirmed into the clothes, though he seemed utterly unabashed of his nudity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell</span>
  </em>
  <span> is up with your Z7 series?” Alec asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua had stopped growling and was staring at Minhyuk with a certain intensity that Max couldn’t fathom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Minhyuk and I are like Sanha and Jinwoo — we can change,” Bin said. He tilted his head, and suddenly he had a smattering of indigo-violet scales along his arms and gills on the sides of his throat, and he was some kind of fish-boy, not the first kind Max had seen but definitely an upgrade on the girl from the X5 series Max had seen who’d been used for amphibious assaults.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What can you change into?” Max asked Dongmin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m completely human,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this all of them?” Gem asked. “Your brothers?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re six,” Jinwoo said. “There’s one more.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s the sixth one gonna have?” Alec asked. “Retractable angel wings?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin laughed. “No. Myungjun’s human. You’ll see.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max wasn’t sure she wanted to see.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Myungjun was, as promised, all human. Small, though perhaps a hair taller than Jinwoo. Slenderer than Jinwoo, though, and built along more delicate lines, with prettier features, and a sweet, almost feminine voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Where Bin was something akin to a merman, Myungjun was a siren. When he sang, he hypnotized all who listened. Not just hypnotized - brainwashed. He could sing Eve to sleep whenever Gem needed it. He could whip Mole and Joshua and Alec into a fighting frenzy. He could also calm Max and Alec down when they wanted to fight. He could convince Dongmin to dance even though he was still quite awkward at it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How useful is that, really, though?” Alec asked, once he’d shaken himself out of the daze Myungjun had put him in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you ever given the man a microphone and put him in front of a crowd?” Max asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun preened and said, “I’m a star.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk was Z7-225 and Myungjun was Z7-305. There were a lot of gaps in between them. How had the six of them come to consider themselves brothers? Where were their sisters in the mix? And what about the fabled Z7-777, who had no name, the mere mention of whom made all of the other Z7’s frown?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, the new additions to Terminal City were welcome, not least because they could blend in seamlessly with the Ordinaries and get work and bring home money and food. Unlike the X5’s, they didn’t need enormous quantities of milk, and they could often play up their immigrant status to get away with awkward situations and misunderstandings, though they’d all picked up English far faster than any Ordinary would have.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“I’m getting nervous,” Alec said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nervous, or anxious?” Max asked. They were walking patrol along the top perimeter, keeping an eye out, and also just seeing how things looked in the rest of Seattle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Either. Both. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. The general public knows transgenics exist. Manticore knows we escaped. They’re going to keep coming for us. They won’t leave well enough alone. And now there are other countries with even more advanced programs who’ve lost assets. They know we’re a beacon for those lost assets.” Alec was itching to get out and do something. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So was Max. Who knew she’d miss her days as a Jam Pony bike messenger? “We’ll be ready.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But would they be? Sure, everyone who could fight trained on the regular, but Gem was focused on Eve, who was growing bigger and stronger day by day, and everyone was swept up in the beauty and possibilities of the first transgenic child born without a barcode.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eve’s favorite person was Minhyuk, especially when he was in wolf form — his wolf name was, according to Sanha, Rocky. While Rocky was lazing around and basking in the sun, Eve crawled all over him, tugging on his ears and tail and fur and whiskers, and he tolerated it till he didn’t, and then he’d huff, shake her off, and trot away, usually to trail after Bin while he ran errands around Terminal City. Sometimes he remained in wolf form while he accompanied Bin on his jobs around Greater Seattle, but more often than not he took human form to pick up odd jobs to bring money home. He was a talented cook and had several regular gigs at small restaurants.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun stayed around Terminal City, helping with chores. He was adept at sewing and drawing and painting, and he was helping spruce the place up, organizing sleeping quarters for different people, sewing clothes and drapes and blankets and bedding. Gem often called upon him to help put Eve down for her naps, and sometimes others asked for him as well, for help going to sleep at night, other transgenics who’d gone on away missions before they’d broken free from Manticore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max reached out to Logan, let him know to keep an eye out for news from other countries.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“South Korea? Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. They call themselves Z7’s. They’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen or even imagined,” she said. “One of them, Sanha, you might be interested in working with him. He’s a hacker, and a cyborg. He unlocked your identity using Gem’s little cellphone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Max hadn’t thought men Logan’s age could hit that note - men who weren’t Myungjun, at any rate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once Logan recovered from the shock, he agreed to meet with Sanha and work on beefing up his Eyes Only security and setting up some alerts to news and incursions from foreign news agencies and military agencies.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The other shoe dropped in the middle of the night. Dalton and some other X6’s were on watch, and then a piercing scream woke everyone in the entire city.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max was dead asleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max came wide awake and ready to fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The scream was a single high-pitched, sustained note. Not a scream so much was a signal. A warning. A vocal siren. Myungjun. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In that single note Max heard danger, incursion, a call to arms. She grabbed her weapons and shrugged on a leather jacket that functioned as basic body armor, and she rallied to the source of the sound.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec and Mole and Gem and Joshua and other combat-capable denizens were awake and headed for battle stations.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dalton was down. Other X6’s were down. Were they dead? Alec shouted for Gem to grab the kids and check on them. Mole shouted for Jinwoo and Bin and Minhyuk and Sanha and Dongmin to secure the perimeter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone should spread out and search for the intruder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They found him tussling with Myungjun in the kitchens. It was like something out of a bad action movie, pots and pans flying, utensils and dishes getting swept off the counters, cabinets banging open and cabinet doors breaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun was tiny but fierce.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His attacker was tiny but fierce.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun snarled and wrenched off his attacker’s ski mask - and his attacker was a clone of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec swore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max swore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have a good shot,” Alec said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our Myungjun’s the one in the rubber ducky pajamas,” Max said, gripping her pistol tightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her mind raced. She remembered coming face to face with one of her own clones, one who’d buckled down to live as an Ordinary, had a husband and child.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She knew Alec was remembering his own clone, Ben, who’d lost his mind and had to be put down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max went to squeeze the trigger, but a blur of fur shot past her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rocky, snarling and growling, pounced on the clone and dragged him to the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, don’t kill him!” Myungjun shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rocky snarled again and shook the clone like a ragdoll. The clone was limp in Rocky’s jaws.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin and the rest of his brothers spilled into the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sanha, check him,” Dongmin said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha knelt and managed to pry Rocky’s jaws off of the clone’s neck, and he peered at the tattoo behind the clone’s ear. He and the others devolved into a flurry of conversation in Korean, though Max heard them bandy about one phrase over and over again that sounded like </span>
  <em>
    <span>chill chill chill.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on?” Alec asked. “Is he just the stalking horse for a horde of Z7’s coming to wipe us all out?” He didn’t lower his pistol.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He came just for us,” Jinwoo said. “He probably had orders to take us alive — and any of you as well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dalton and the others X6’s were alive. Good. Max didn’t lower her pistol either. The clone was already starting to move.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who is he?” Max asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Z7-777,” Dongmin said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The one without a name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rocky shifted back into Minhyuk, and Bin dug around in one of the kitchen cupboards and came up with some rope, and Minhyuk trussed 777 up rapidly and in a very complicated fashion — and also a very pretty fashion, so his wrists were connected to his ankles but the ropes formed a neat diamond pattern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kinky,” Alec said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk preened a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max decided not to think too hard about the fact that Bin had known exactly where to find that rope, and that it was in one of the kitchen cupboards.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s question him,” Max said.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>777 was a soldier. He responded to questions like a soldier: rank and serial number. Cadet. Z7-777. But he had no name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Myungjun who said, “Protocol is to give your name, rank, and serial number, so you should have a name.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>777, sitting in the chair Jinwoo had found, just blinked at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max was in charge of the questioning once they figured out that 777 understood English just fine, but the other Z7’s were present to help her formulate questions and comprehend any answers, because he was obstinate and answered in Korean.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec continued coordinating with the others by radio in case 777 was a decoy and meant to distract them while more troops launched a larger-scale assault on Terminal City.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By all appearances, however, 777’s mission was simple: infiltrate quietly and retrieve the other Z7 units alive, and tag any other Manticore units for live capture as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They really thought he could do all that on his own?” Max asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Dongmin said grimly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But Myungjun stopped him,” Max said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They are clones of each other,” Jinwoo said reasonably.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Can 777 do that singing thing?” Max hunched her shoulders up toward her ears instinctively.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, that belongs to Myungjun alone,” Bin said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk was Rocky again and was prowling the perimeter, silent, his wolf-blue eyes bright and a little feral. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Coast is clear for now,” Alec said. “No one on the approach. Our eyes in the sky say - how do we know he’s not bugged?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sanha searched him,” Dongmin said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sanha…?” Alec glanced at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have scanners in my eyes. It’s how I read his QR code.” Sanha shrugged and smiled sweetly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What kinds of scanners?” Max asked, glancing down at herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Many kinds,” Sanha said. “He’s not bugged. And if he were, I’d have taken care of the bugs anyway. I can emit small EMPs, you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Alec recoiled sharply.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do your eyes in the sky say?” Bin asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No one else is approaching for now,” Alec said. “No chatter, no nothing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Max said. “Then we can take our time with him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t hurt him,” Myungjun said. He crouched down beside the chair and peered into 777’s eyes. “Let me talk to him. But he needs a name first, right? We all deserve real names beyond our designations.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Myungjunnie.” Jinwoo put a hand on his shoulder. “You know what he did do the others - to Jinjin and Eunwoo and Ddana and Dalkong and -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And if we can help him, he has a chance.” Myungjun shook Jinwoo’s hand off, and he peered into 777’s eyes. “What should your name be? Do you want a Korean name, or an English name? We all have English names too. My English name is MJ, because my name is Myungjun. What should your name be - Sebastian?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a bit much, don’t you think?” Max asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun smiled tentatively at 777. “How about Jamie? Jamie’s a cute name. We can be MJamie together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>777 just stared at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun began to sing softly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Everybody’s talkin’ ’bout Jamie…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>777 immediately squirmed and tried to hunch his shoulders up around his ears, but Myungjun wasn’t influencing people every time he sang; sometimes he was just sharing his beautiful voice, and he had a very beautiful voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun reached out and patted 777’s shoulders. “No, I’m not hypnotizing you. Sorry. Look, you deserve a name. You don’t have to do what they say. You can be free. We’re all free. We don’t have to kill people. We can just live our lives and be friends. See Max and Alec? They’re nice people. They’re friends. They used to be like us, but they got free.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>777 said, “Friends? What are friends?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Friends. People who care about each other and help each other.” Myungjun smiled tentatively, then looked up at the others. “Right? We’re kind, and we smile, and we play, and we work hard and take care of each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re family,” Jinwoo said. “Look at him. He’s your brother. </span>
  <em>
    <span>We’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> your brothers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Family,” 777 echoed tentatively.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Family isn’t just DNA,” Dongmin said quietly. “I still remember what he did to Eunwoo.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo put a hand on his shoulder, but Dongmin shook him off. He shook his head and stepped back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we should just —” Bin made a throat-slitting motion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>777’s gaze went blank. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun flung his arms around 777 and held him. “No. Please give him a chance. He was just following orders.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He didn’t give Dalkong a chance,” Dongmin said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t know what the trainers did to him,” Myungjun said. “My cell was next to his. You didn’t hear —”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He looks fine to me,” Dongmin said coolly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max looked at Alec. This was the first time they’d seen such disharmony among the Z7 ranks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun reached out and grabbed one of Jinwoo’s knives, and he sliced 777’s arm. 777 didn’t even flinch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Max said, but then they all stared as the wound closed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course he </span>
  <em>
    <span>looks </span>
  </em>
  <span>fine,” Myungjun said. He shoved the knife back into Jinwoo’s hand and knelt beside 777, pressed a kiss to the patch of unmarred skin where the wound had been. “I’m sorry. I had to make them understand. If you stay with us, if you help us and don’t hurt us, we won’t hurt you, and you won’t have to hurt anyone else ever again.”</span>
</p><p><em><span>“You</span></em><span> just</span> <span>hurt him,” Alec said. His mouth was pressed into a thin line. </span></p><p>
  <span>Max knew she didn’t know the extent of what he’d had to do before he’d escaped from Manticore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>777 stared at Myungjun, perplexed. He said, “Why did you press your lips to my skin?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun blinked. “What? Oh, when you’re hurt, someone should kiss it better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max wondered where Myungjun had learned that. Max had seen Gem kiss Eve’s boo-boos better when she bonked herself when she was flailing her little arms and legs around, but it was something Gem had learned from watching television and movies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>777 said, “My wounds heal themselves. I am never truly hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun said, “Just because the wound is healed doesn’t mean you weren’t hurt and you don’t still need some time to get better. Dongmin is still hurt about what happened to Eunwoo, and Binnie is still hurt about what happened to Dalkong, and Jinwoo is still hurt about what happened to Jinjin, and Sanha is still hurt about what happened to Ddana.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>777 tilted his head. “I did what I was told. You must follow orders, or —”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Myungjun said. “I know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you return with me now, they won’t dismantle you in the chair,” 777 said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun reached up and smoothed a hand over 777’s shorn black hair. “We wouldn’t survive dismantling like you, Jamie. They’d reprogram us if they decided we were salvageable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am Cadet Z7-777,” he said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jamie,” Myungjun said. “No one here will ever dismantle you.” He glanced over his shoulder at Max and Alec. “Right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max had no idea what dismantling entailed, but she said, “Right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay with us,” Myungjun said. “Protect us, and we’ll protect you. We don’t even have a chair here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t even know what one looks like,” Alec said gamely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Sanha who said, “They really don’t. America’s pretty backwards.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>777 said, “Untie me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo flicked open his knife and stepped closer, but 777 flinched back and pouted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said untie me, not cut me loose. Don’t ruin the rope. It’s so pretty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was such a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Myungjun</span>
  </em>
  <span> thing to say that Max could only stare. Bin reached out and unfastened two knots, tugged, and the whole thing unraveled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously,” Alec said. “Kinky. And you should teach me how sometime.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>777 shook his limbs out, rose up slowly. Rocky prowled closer to him. 777 knelt and held out his hand. Rocky sniffed his hand, and then he leaned in, submitted to pets. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max and Alec looked at each other. That was a good sign, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>777 petted him tentatively. Myungjun showed him how to scratch behind Rocky’s ears and rub his belly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, 777 said, “I like Sebastian better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun blinked. “Pardon?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For my name. I like Sebastian.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin and Jinwoo shifted uneasily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun smiled, his bright, sunny smile. “All right, Sebastian. It’s a start. Welcome to Terminal City. First things first, you have to apologize to the others for killing their brothers. Second, you have to help us fight off Fantagio, all right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian nodded. He spoke in Korean, and he knelt, bowed, touching his head to the floor. He addressed Dongmin and Jinwoo and Sanha individually. Max had no idea what he was saying, but there was something ritualistic about the whole affair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just empty words,” Dongmin protested when Sebastian climbed to his feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a start,” Alec said quietly. “When you’ve been what he’s been and done what he’s done, it’s a start.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian said, “I’ll be back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned and headed for the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun hurried after him. “Wait!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all ran after him, but he’d headed for the gate and jumped over it. No normal human — and most transgenics — couldn’t have survived that fall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bin swatted Myungjun on the arm and swore at him in Korean. “You let him get away. All because he has the same face as you —”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had to try,” Myungjun protested. He turned to Rocky. “Can you follow him? Did you get his scent?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo turned to Sanha. “Can you get anything on your thermal scanners?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got nothing. He just disappeared. But you know he can modulate his body temperature to evade my scanners.” Sanha curled his hands into fists, frustrated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin whirled on Myungjun. “If he brings reinforcements, this is on your head.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun nodded, gazing out into the darkness. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Max spent the rest of the night checking on Dalton and the X6’s, making sure everyone was all right, reassuring the denizens of Terminal City that the incursion had been dealt with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mole, Gem, Alec, Max, and Joshua, who were Terminal City’s leaders sort of by default, met in Max’s office with Dongmin and Jinwoo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If Sebastian has betrayed us, how bad is it going to be?” Max asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He took Eunwoo apart,” Dongmin said. “He barely had any teeth left.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fantagio is no joke,” Jinwoo said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are we talking about as far as firepower?” Alec asked. “Manticore had the American military behind it. What does Fantagio have? What’s beyond the Z7 series?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing,” Dongmin said. “But as you’ve seen, there’s a lot of variation within the Z7 series.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fantagio doesn’t need tanks and guns and rockets. They just need a handful of Z7’s.” Jinwoo scrubbed a hand over his face and looked exhausted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which ones do you think they’d send?” Mole asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo sighed. “Knowing that we have Sanha’s thermal scanners and Minhyuk’s sensitive nose and ears and eyes? At least one invisible unit. A couple of super-speed units. And a sniper unit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“128, 701, 101, and 201,” Dongmin said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And five of them could take out all of Terminal City?” Gem asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Five of them could take out an entire county,” Jinwoo said. “The six of us were designed to take down an entire country.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec swore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His radio crackled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max cocked her head, used her heightened hearing to tune in. Dalton was summoning everyone to the front gate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec led the way at a dead sprint. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max followed on his heels. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She skidded to a halt — and also swore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian stood at the gate. His face was spattered with blood, and his dark clothes were darker, wetter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had laid four severed heads at the foot of the gate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Five young men.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me guess,” Mole said. “128, 701, 101, and 201.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin nodded, one hand pressed to his mouth, horrified. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Sebastian smiled sweetly and waved up at them. “I protected us. That’s what family does, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s Ben all over again,” Max said faintly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec shook his head. “No. It doesn’t have to be. We can help him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fantagio won’t be coming after us again any time soon,” Sebastian said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun ran down to the main courtyard and opened the gate, tugged Sebastian into his arms. “You came back. Thank you for coming back. I’m glad you’re safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian stood there, looking puzzled at the gesture. “I’m Z7-777. I’m the best there is. Of course I’d come back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It almost sounded like Myungjun’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m a star.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“We could have saved them,” Dongmin said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo shook his head. “What’s done is done. I doubt we’d have been able to deprogram five at once. We’ve got 777, and he eliminated several key units.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our brothers.” Dongmin looked anguished. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not the same as our brothers,” Jinwoo said. “Not Dongyoung, not Taeyong, not Qian Kun, not Si Cheng.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s called a hug,” Myungjun was saying to Sebastian. “It’s a gesture of affection. You’re supposed to put your arms around me and hug me back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian hugged Myungjun back loosely, briefly. It was better than nothing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bin said, “I’ll get rid of the heads.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk, in human form, moved to help him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think we’re free and clear for now?” Max asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha was poking at Gem’s phone. After a moment, he lifted his head, and Max saw something like infrared flare in his irises. “For now.” </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>A tentative peace settled over Terminal City with the addition of Sebastian. Like the rest of the Z7’s, he was incredibly intelligent and adaptable. He could learn new skills at the drop of a hat, and of course he could pass as a human much better than a lot of other transgenics, so for him to go into Greater Seattle and find work to bring money back shouldn’t have been a problem — except he wasn’t so good at acting human. He followed Myungjun around like a shadow, and given how they were almost clones of each other, had been drawn from the same genetic donor and had the same faces, he practically </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> Myungjun’s shadow. But his smile didn’t quite have Myungjun’s warmth, and his mimicry of Myungjun’s affection was empty, hollow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hugged. He shook hands. He patted people on the head and arm and shoulder. But it was all rote, copied. He pitched in and helped cook and sew and clean. He never left Terminal City, not even when Bin or Sanha or Minhyuk or Dongmin or Alec or Max invited him on a supply or job run with them, because Myungjun didn’t leave, and he didn’t leave Myungjun. He’d just smile the smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes and say </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, thank you, I’m fine here,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and resume his task.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could sing just like Myungjun, though. His voice didn’t have the hypnotic or riotous properties, but it was honey-sweet and clear just the same, and when he and Myungjun harmonized, it was something to behold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eve loved him, and she’d fall asleep for his lullabies just as easily as for one of Myungjun’s.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin, Jinwoo, Sanha, and Bin kept their distance from him. The Z7’s he’d killed hadn’t just been their close friends — he’d killed their twins, their clones. Minhyuk didn’t have the same history with Sebastian, and so he didn’t mind spending time with Sebastian, either in human or wolf form. Sebastian seemed to prefer Rocky, would let the wolf trot along beside him while he wandered around Terminal City going about his errands, or sometimes he’d sit for long stretches of time in silence, petting Rocky while Rocky basked in the sun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max and Alec kept an eye on Sebastian, still waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Fantagio to send more Z7’s after them or for Sebastian to snap, to be a second Ben.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Sebastian didn’t start bringing human teeth to Myungjun in a weird bid for affection. He asked a lot of questions about, well, everything remotely related to human interaction. Why did Max and Logan hold hands? Why did Cindy and Asha press their mouths together? What did Alec mean when he said </span>
  <em>
    <span>If you know what I mean?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Where did Gem get Eve from and why was Gem so protective of Eve? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun was the best equipped to teach Sebastian about things, because he was best able to explain things to Sebastian.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even though they’re genetic clones of each other, of a sort, they’re not really brothers,” Minhyuk said one day, while Max was standing on the wall above the courtyard, overlooking where Sebastian and Myungjun were playing with Eve, who was crawling very fast these days. “They weren’t raised together, and they certainly didn’t have the same parents.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None of us had parents,” Max said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can be family without being siblings,” Minhyuk said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You and the others call yourselves brothers.” Max glanced at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Brothers-in-arms, really.” Minhyuk lowered his gaze briefly. “For all that Dongmin is very angry at what Sebastian did to Eunwoo and the others, we all did things we regret. Sebastian just did — more. How much more, maybe only Myungjun knows. I didn’t realize his cell was next to Sebastian’s, back at the facility. And I never heard what they did to Sebastian, to punish him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max could guess. She’d heard Sebastian wake in the night, screaming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d heard Myungjun wake and scramble into Sebastian’s bunk and croon to him, trying to soothe him. Not even Myungjun’s magical voice could soothe him instantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So the first time Max saw Sebastian lean in and kiss Myungjun, she didn’t say anything. It was a bit jarring to see, since the two of them had identical faces. It was almost like watching a man lean in to look closely at his own reflection, but then it was like something out of a classical painting, a fairytale prince and an angel or —</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No, there really was nothing to compare it to, because Max and her kind were out of this world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except they were very much in this world to stay, and when Myungjun wound his arms around Sebastian and cradled him gently and kissed him back, Max figured both of them deserved all the comfort they could get, and she turned and headed the other way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s weird,” Jinwoo muttered over dinner the next night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bin sighed. “You’ve caught them at it too?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can hear you,” Myungjun said.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We </span>
  </em>
  <span>can hear you,” Sebastian corrected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk said, “They know each other well, and share things only they can understand. And it’s not like they can have genetically aberrant children if they —”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For all that is holy do not finish that sentence,” Sanha said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sebastian said, “It’s not like Dongmin and Eunwoo never —”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jinwoo demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dongmin ducked his head and dug into his bowl of rice and said nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max looked at Alec.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec said to Sebastian, “That thing Minhyuk was going to say before Sanha interrupted him. That’s usually what I mean when I say </span>
  <em>
    <span>if you know what I mean.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you just say what you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because there are children present,” Gem said primly, nodding at Dalton and Eve.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eve burbled sadly and tugged at the cuff of Minhyuk’s jeans. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He peered down at her and cooed. “When I’m finished with supper, Rocky will take you for a ride, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that a good idea?” Mole asked. “She’s going to think she can ride any canine she sees.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joshua grumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk shrugged. “She’ll learn the difference eventually.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max said, “Let her have her fun while it lasts.” Before the other shoe drops, she meant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec nodded his agreement, and then his walkie talkie buzzed at his hip. Perimeter alert. He pushed himself to his feet. “No rest for the wicked.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you’re not wicked,” Sebastian said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec winked. “That’s what you think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cindy smacked him on the arm. “Don’t go giving him ideas.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But he’s not…?” Sebastian watched Alec go, pouting, confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Myungjun pressed a kiss to his hair absently and said, “I’ll explain later.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max was glad Sebastian had stayed, was on their side, because with him around, Terminal City had a fighting chance for a later, no matter what showed up at their gates.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Stealth crossover. Sorry boys, you got fridged.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Free-for-all: Song-eaters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sanha and Jinwoo go busking in Hongdae and encounter a song-eater -- song-sharer in the wild.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A brief interlude in the series <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/series/1641382">The Strongest Form of Magic</a>, set after <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25974223/chapters/63143974">music (when soft voices die)</a>.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After two weeks of grueling unit promotions — sleep deprivation, missed meals, constantly smiling for cameras, dancing, answering endless inane questions for interviews — Sanha finally had a night off. And he was going to spend it away from Bin, the other half of his sub-unit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha reached up and made sure his beanie was on securely, then tugged up the hood of his hoodie for extra security. He’d thought two-tone hair for his and Bin’s unit debut would be a cool look. Hyungwon-sunbae from Monsta X had done it, and then one of the girls in BlackPink, and it was popular this year, and Sanha had never done anything like it before, and no one in the group had done anything like it either, so when the stylists asked if he wanted something new, he thought, why not? Bin had to have his hair natural-colored because he was filming a drama as well as doing unit promotions, so only Sanha could have wild-colored hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha decided to go for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The problem with wild-colored hair was that it was, well, wild. And noticeable. And when Sanha didn’t want to be noticed, he had to hide it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo had been spending ridiculous amounts of time holed up in his tiny studio, writing songs in anticipation of their next comeback — and also writing songs possibly for other artists to use as well — and he needed to get out. He was looking pale, and every time Sanha saw him it was like seeing an old friend for the first time in a long time, which was a bad thing, because they lived together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want to what?” Jinwoo had asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to take my guitar and go busk in Hongdae like a university student,” Sanha had said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But if you get recognized, we could get into so much trouble.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo’s expression had been dubious, but now he had a cajon in a soft case with straps and was carrying it on his back and following Sanha down the street. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha was carrying his guitar on his back in a hard case, and he had a little rolling amp and amp cord coiled up against the handle. Jinwoo was carrying a couple of microphones and folded mic stands in a case as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not just me, </span>
  <em>
    <span>we,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sanha said. “We’re both celebrities.” But he did keep his voice low.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not the one who’s in the middle of active promotions,” Jinwoo said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No one will be expecting us out here, and I’ll be singing all covers, and it’ll be you and me and my guitar,” Sanha said. “And you’re an underrated singer. You harmonizing with me will probably throw a lot of people off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo said, “If I say run, run.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha nodded. He hoped they wouldn’t have to sacrifice any of their equipment. If push came to shove, they’d rescue their instruments and ditch the rest, although management would be very displeased with them for losing equipment. At least it wasn’t very expensive equipment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The nice thing about Hongdae was that busking was organized, and Sanha had signed up for a busking spot in advance, so no one would take their place, and they were guaranteed a spot with a power outlet for their equipment, and their spot was in a decently populous area that they’d have some measure of an audience, given that this was a Monday night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They set up their equipment, did a quick soundcheck and tune check on Sanha’s guitar, and they began to play. Sanha perched on his amp; Jinwoo sat on his drum, and Sanha played a bunch of his favorite covers. He hadn’t intended to become an idol, with all the dancing and fancy costumes and fanservice; he’d planned on becoming a guitarist like his father, a serious musician.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And tonight was his chance to be one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he still smiled sweetly, made eye contact and nodded when people paused to listen or tossed money into his open guitar case (he’d donate it to charity later). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo was a skilled percussionist, and he kept time cleanly, threw in a few fills here and there, and even offered up some vocal harmonies, smiled at the audience as it grew. Sanha kept an eye on the audience, for the whispers and excitement that meant they’d been recognized, but so far it seemed people were taking them at face value, a couple of university students plying their skill and sharing their passion on a busy street.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then a girl edged forward during a break between songs and said, “Do you take requests?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, if I know the song I can play it, but I can’t guarantee I know the song,” Sanha said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl said, “Do you know the song Someday the Boy, from the drama Itaewon Class?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha swallowed hard. He knew that song well, thought of Minhyuk every time he heard it, because Minhyuk had sung a cover of it, Minhyuk who could no longer sing or even speak, Minhyuk who was no longer on the team or living in the dorm or —</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, I do.” Sanha glanced at Jinwoo. “You can sit this one out if you like.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo’s gaze was shadowed. He nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha cleared his throat and strummed the starting chord, made sure it was the right one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A shriek of car brakes drowned out his guitar. Someone screamed. Glass shattered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo dove and tackled Sanha off the amp as a car thumped into the curb and smashed into a lamppost.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>More people screamed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>People surged away from the car in a panic. A few people stumbled toward it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A man shouted, “Help! Please help! Save my daughter!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha climbed to his feet, and he and Jinwoo headed toward the man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someone call 119,” Jinwoo said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A man in a rumpled suit, tie askew, knelt on the pavement. A little girl, maybe ten, lay across his lap. She was limp, bleeding. One of her legs looked like it had been crushed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bile rose in Sanha’s throat. He put a hand to his stomach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Plenty of people were speaking into their cellphones. A woman in scrubs knelt beside the man. She had some kind of hospital ID hanging from the pocket of her scrub top.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sir, was she pinned between the car and the lamppost?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man nodded, sobbing. “I had to pull her free.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman cursed under her breath. “What’s her name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chohee.” The man hiccupped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chohee, can you hear me?” the woman asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl didn’t respond.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman checked her over with professional competence, but her expression was grim. Then she reached into her pocket for her mobile and fired up — a radio app.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” the man asked. “Are you calling an ambulance?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha and Jinwoo exchanged looks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo said, “Sir, other people have already called 119. Please stay calm and let the nurse do her job. What’s your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man hiccuped. “Im Hyungseok.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How old is Chohee?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eleven.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While Jinwoo distracted the man, Sanha slid closer to the nurse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll sing for you,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She lifted her head sharply. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A live voice is better than live musicians over radio waves, right?” Sanha kept his voice low.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stared at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As long as you don’t make me go temporarily mute, you can take as much as you need,” Sanha said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How —?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A friend of mine,” Sanha said. “He’s a song-sharer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman’s shoulders relaxed a fraction, but her gaze was still wary. “I can save her life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you can. He saved our lives once.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman searched his gaze, then nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha began to sing softly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman darted a glance around, then leaned in and inhaled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sensation of someone drinking his voice was uncanny, but just like Minhyuk had been, the woman was gentle, drawing it out of him slowly and carefully, like someone unspooling a ribbon from his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman beckoned Sanha close, and they both leaned over Chohee’s prone form like they were checking her over, so no one would notice what they were doing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha’s heart hammered against his ribs. He’d thought the most dangerous thing he’d be doing tonight was performing in public without any kind of security. This woman was risking her life to save a child she didn’t even know, and Sanha was risking his and his teammates’ safety by helping her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman stopped right on the edge of Sanha going hoarse, and then she leaned in further and proceeded to give little Chohee CPR — and breathe the song into her, giving her enough energy to sustain her until she could get to the hospital and have further medical attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>EMTs arrived not long after, and Chohee and her father were bundled into an ambulance while the nurse gave her report to the EMTs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not looking good,” one of the EMTs admitted to the nurse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The nurse said, “The girl is stronger than she looks. She has a good chance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then the ambulance doors slammed shut and the lights and sirens fired up, and the ambulance sped away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The nurse turned to Jinwoo and Sanha.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” she said. “For helping me help that child.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We couldn’t just let her die,” Jinwoo said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman took a deep breath. “I’m not used to — no one’s ever offered their voice like that before, no one outside my family. Usually people would be screaming about calling a Songbird and I’d have to quit my job and change my name and maybe get plastic surgery.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha said, “We’re hoping that one day this world changes, that it’s a better place for song-sharers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman smiled sadly and patted him on the shoulder. “You’re young and sweet. Stay that way.” Then she turned and headed into the chilly night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t wearing any kind of jacket or sweater, and she seemed unaffected by the cold. Surely that was a sign she wasn’t human. Minhyuk had always been less affected by the cold than the others, come to think of it. That was something he ought to work on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we should get back to the dorm,” Jinwoo said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha nodded. “We should. Before management finds out we were nearly in a car accident.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should tell them anyway, in the off chance we were spotted or are later identified in cameraphone photos or footage.” Jinwoo headed back to their busking spot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha followed, and they packed up their gear quickly and efficiently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you ever feel helpless?” Sanha asked as they headed back to the train station.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Helpless how?” Jinwoo asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Dongmin is Yoona’s double-agent, and Minhyuk is working for Yoona and is her, I don’t know, special song-sharer bodyguard or something now. Myungjun has song-sharer magic and can learn Songbird spells and is good at research and can help Dongmin with Songbird things and can even use Songbird weapons. You and me and Bin - we’re all helpless. Useless.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can be supportive to Dongmin and Myungjun and Minhyuk,” Jinwoo said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They headed down the stairs and into the subway station.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Basically we’re decorations,” Sanha said. “But I want to help. Remember how Dongmin said if song-sharers really want equality, they need to be considered human in the eyes of the law?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo nodded. They sat down on a bench together inside the subway car, but right after the doors closed, Jinwoo gave his seat up to a pregnant woman, and Sanha gave his seat up to her friend, and they shuffled closer to the doors so they could continue their conversation in privacy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even if the law changes, minds and hearts won’t change right away,” Sanha said. “But sometimes laws are changed because peoples’ minds change, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo nodded again, expression wary. “What are you getting at?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Cha Clan Songbirds are doing their best to spread the word about how dangerous song-sharers are, to make people afraid of them,” Sanha said. “What if someone else were to start spreading the word that not all song-sharers are song-eaters, that there’s more to the story?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we do something like that, Dongmin could be in danger,” Jinwoo said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha fished his phone out of his pocket. “We wouldn’t have to endanger him.” He opened up a portal site and found one of those anonymous advice pages, usually where people went to ask for dating advice and whatnot. “We could plant the seeds, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo stared. “You really think it would work?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At first people would probably make fun of me when I post, call me a liar, but it wouldn’t be anything worse than I ever heard from antis and haters and training managers and instructors. But if enough people made posts, if other people started coming forward, it would be an underground movement. You know, like a rebellion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo bit his lip, considering. Even though he was slow to think, he was intelligent, thought well. He was the leader for a reason even though he wasn’t the oldest, even though Myungjun was plenty intelligent and had been an honor student in school, as Minhyuk had always been quick to remind them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It could be an underground movement,” Jinwoo said. “But we would need more support.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bin-hyung would help us, I’m sure,” Sanha said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should check with Yoona-ssi and Dongmin before we do anything drastic,” Jinwoo said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But think about it. We could have a flag or something, you know, like the rainbow flag for sexual minorities, or...or the Christian fish that people used to have,” Sanha said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo blinked at him. “I’m pretty sure no one has ever put those two symbols in the same sentence before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It would have to be something subtle,” Sanha said. “Something that spies couldn’t notice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If Songbird Senior Command found out, you think they wouldn’t try to send spies?” Jinwoo asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which is why we should talk to Yoona and see what she thinks,” Sanha said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. And — we shouldn’t force it. We should let the movement grow and build. There are other people out there, like that lady who helped. Like Minhyuk. Who might be willing to come forward, in a way, if there’s a safe space, on the Internet,” Jinwoo said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like a fan cafe, only much more secure.” Sanha smiled, pleased at the notion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo nodded. “How are you feeling? You let her have some of your voice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She didn’t take too much. I’ll be fine,” Sanha said. “It’s kind of surreal. I never thought I’d just let a song-eater take my voice. Song-sharer. In training they always taught us to beware, you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo wrapped an arm around his waist, and Sanha leaned against him. Even though Jinwoo was shorter, he was broad, solid, strong and warm, and Sanha trusted him, had since he’d first joined the company as a trainee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now we have to be afraid of the Songbirds too,” Jinwoo said softly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha closed his eyes. “I wish it all would stop.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo hummed, his deep voice rumbling through both of them, a gentle counterpoint to the swaying of the subway car, and Sanha could pretend he was a brand new trainee, away from home living in the dorms for the first time and letting Jinwoo comfort him, because being away from home was hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk had been only a year older than him, but Minhyuk had been a trainee for several years longer, and he seemed so much older, and so much braver —</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I miss him,” Sanha said. “Minhyukie-hyung.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I miss him too,” Jinwoo said. “Probably not as much as Myungjun-hyung, but —”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bin-hyung probably misses him the most, though. I hope he’s all right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jinwoo squeezed Sanha briefly. “If your idea works out, one day Minhyukie and everyone like him will have a chance to all be all right, to walk freely through this world, unafraid of who and what they are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sanha unlocked his phone and stared at the anonymous forum board. He’d have to do some research, find out how to trick his device so when he posted it didn’t use an IP address that could be traced back to him. But he had a plan, and he would do his best to help.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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